Some folks would have you believe that it would be all unicorns and ponies in Syria if only President Obama weren’t so reluctant to use military force. If only President Obama would send more ground troops, or establish a “safe zone” along the Turkey-Syria border, or impose a “no fly zone,” or bomb more with less concern about civilian casualties – why, we’d have ISIS whipped faster than you can say, “The Turkish government hates journalists more than they hate ISIS.”
“Safe zone” – what an endearing and attractive phrase! Who could object to something so attractively named? But apparently US-backed Syrian Kurds fighting ISIS object. Who knew?
AP reports:
Fighting between U.S.-backed Syrian rebels and rival militants has killed more than 20 people in northern Syria over the past two days, opposition activists said on Monday. The fighting between the so-called Democratic Forces of Syria, which is led by Kurds, and Islamic militants has flared in recent days in the northern province of Aleppo. Most of the fighting has taken place in the border area, where Turkey is examining the possibility of creating a safe zone to protect civilians and moderate rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting is concentrated near the town of Azaz, close to the border with Turkey. Azaz has been repeatedly hit by Russian airstrikes in recent days.
[…]
Bahaa al-Halaby, an opposition activist based in Aleppo, said on Monday that … the fighting began when DFS launched an offensive and captured several villages before being pushed back by militants. “I think the aim of this attack is to thwart attempts to set up a safe zone,” al-Halaby said via Skype.
The DFS is led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units,…